Source: MotoGP.

Forward Racing Yamaha’s Aleix Espargaro has completed a dominant showing in Qatar MotoGP free practice, building upon an impressive Thursday performance to dominate both of the Friday sessions.

The Spanish rider is flourishing with the extra freedoms allowed by the Open class category, commanding a large share of the spotlight as the factory stars cling to places at the back end of the top 10.

Espargaro headed home Ducati Team rider Andrea Dovizioso in free practice two, with a solid margin of 0.331 seconds separating the pair.

Alvaro Bautista went third-quickest on his Gresini Honda, making it all three MotoGP sub-classes in the top three positions – Open, Open Factory and Factory.

Espargaro elevated the pace further in free practice three, lapping 0.413 seconds clear of Andrea Iannone who moved his Pramac Racing Ducati into P2.

Bautista remained consistently quick with third, while Dovizioso made it two Ducati mounts in the top four.

Defending world champion Marc Marquez is steadily coming up to speed, lapping his Repsol Honda 0.673 seconds off the pace top complete the top five.

Bradley Smith slotted his Monster Tech3 Yamaha into sixth, fortunate to walk away relatively unscathed from a huge crash that saw his bike obliterated.

After finishing the earlier session outside the top 10, Movistar Yamaha Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo was able to make some forward progress, but tyre problems persisted, netting him a frustrating seventh.

Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP) ran eight, with Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha Racing) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) completing the top 10.

Day two proved productive for Australia’s Broc Parkes, with the MotoGP debutant making strides to move to 19th fastest after finishing tail-end on Thursday.

German rider Sandro Cortese ended Moto2 free practice at the top of the timesheets, the Dynavolt Intact GP talent just 0.016 seconds ahead of Dominique Aegerter on the Technomag carport mount.

Esteve Rabat ran third from Maverick Vinales and early pacesetter Takaaki Nakagami. Aussie Ant West showed solid pace but found himself in 24th despite lapping just 1.574 seconds off the lead pace.

The Moto3 class again produced a hotly-contested battle for free practice bragging rights. Like the premier class, one rider has stamped his authority on the meet early, with SKY Racing Team VR46’s Romano Fenati completing a clean sweep of all three sessions.

Estrella Galicia KTM pairing Alex Rins and Alex Marquez ran second and third, with Aussie hope Jack Miller just 0.159 seconds off Fenati’s benchmark in an encouraging fourth for Red Bull KTM Ajo Motorsports.

Miller had been on a charge in his final pass and looked to move to the top of the leaderboard but slowed in the final sector.

Countryman Arthur Sissis struggled in comparison, finishing free practice two in 30th and not setting a time in free practice three in a challenging debut with Mahindra Racing.

2014 MotoGP World Championship
Round one – Losail, Qatar

MotoGP free practice results:
1. Aleix ESPARGARO 1m54.773
2. Andrea IANNONE 1m55.186
3. Alvaro BAUTISTA 1m55.240
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO 1m55.250
5. Marc MARQUEZ 1m55.446
6. Bradley SMITH 1m55.474
7. Jorge LORENZO 1m55.495
8. Stefan BRADL 1m55.676
9. Valentino ROSSI 1m55.702
10. Dani PEDROSA 1m55.754
19. Broc PARKES (AUS) 1m57.665

Moto2 free practice results:
1. Sandro CORTESE 2m00.579
2. Dominique AEGERTER 2m00.595
3. Esteve RABAT 2m00.646
4. Maverick VIÑALES 2m00.731
5. Takaaki NAKAGAMI 2m00.839
6. Thomas LUTHI 2m00.943
7. Xavier SIMEON 2m01.113
8. Johann ZARCO 2m01.222
9. Mattia PASINI 2m01.313
10. Mika KALLIO 2m01.339
24. Anthony WEST (AUS) 2m02.153

Moto3 free practice results:
1. Romano FENATI 2m06.121
2. Alex RINS 2m06.182
3. Alex MARQUEZ 2m06.273
4. Jack MILLER 2m06.280
5. Jakub KORNFEIL 2m06.323
6. John MCPHEE 2m06.391
7. Alexis MASBOU 2m06.432
8. Francesco BAGNAIA 2m06.439
9. Karel HANIKA 2m06.631
10. Niccolò ANTONELLI 2m06.738

Click here for detailed results